My topics concern human rights, world peace, community outreach & a love of the arts including music, poetry, visual arts including movies & theatre. Working on maintaining inner peace in a very chaotic world. Space exploration, the sun the moon, stars our universe & beyond. The seasons of our planet & our lives. The need for disarmament & how all of this impacts the lives of individuals, communities & our world at large.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

My Other Mother

On Wednesday August 3rd, my best friend from childhood, her mom, passed away, who was in many ways, my true other mother-

Irene Tripp Barry, or Mrs. Barry as she was known to me. Mrs. Barry, was a woman of inner & outer beauty. I have so many stories & adventures of my friend Joanne & I in regards to those growing up years, as we were most adventurous, yet her mom Irene, would always find a way to get to the heart of the situation, even if it seemed on the surface very minor, such as our deep dark secret of us girls exploring an old abandoned house, marveling at it's structure & decay, just pretty much walking about the crumbling rooms, & yes of course an injury pursued as Joanne's sneaker was just not going to resit the presence of a rusty nail. Oh those ole rusty nails, they'll blow your cover every time!

Especially if you had a very smart & with it mother like Joanne did, she was very fashionable & could even pull off wearing Go Go Boots as she was, way ahead of her time, & very CSI aware, afterall, Mrs. Barry was a WWII Marine Veteran, & there was never any fooling her, ever!

Joanne & I became fast friends when we were only eight, attending Girl Scouts together in the very same church were her mother was a member, from it's very newness of a building, to her being eulogized in the very same spot, only just yesterday. Chapters preceding yesterday included of course our teenage years, with all of the trials, tribulations & drama that would often go with the territory, which of course depended on the situation at hand, of which I must honestly say, my contribution was well proportioned. It was a known fact amongst my friends, that my situation at home & my relationship with my parents, back in the day, was not the most stable, so I did become one of the adopted permanent fixture types, at the Barry's quaint country home on King Street in East Hartford, Ct.

Mrs. Barry never seemed to tire of allowing Joanne's friends to feel at home & part of the fabric of the family. Vacations to Mattapousiot, Ma. to stay over & visit with Mrs. Barry's roots family, was often extended to me, including an adventurous mini trip out onto the wavy Atlantic in Mrs. Barry's father, Mr. Tripp's rowboat sized fishing boat, or a quick morning jaunt out to the beach by Joanne & her father to answer my inquiry of what does the beach look like in early spring, with remnants of snow...

I never was at a loss for love & acceptance, when I was with myother family, receiving my very first orchid as the other inter-generational women in the family did that Easter, the very same day of my snow on the beach experience.

I know it doesn't sound like much & this of course is encapsulated, but to a child growing up young & impressionable, & able to view the world of a family from a different angle & experience, a view so opposite from an individuals own home on the range experience, all I could do with it all, was to make sure that with my own children some day, & my grandchildren too, this was the model, the template of which I would choose to utilize from my own mentally stored, computer screen; to be this kind of mother, for to this very day, I have reaped the benefits, as has my children, & grandchildren have too. "And in the end, the love we take is equal to the love we make... " The Beatles

When we extend to a child- love without judgement, acceptence, understanding & a safe place, it does bring forth aspects of a more peaceful, loving world...

The music on this posting Down in the River to Pray by, Alison Kraus has been posted in honor of myother mother-

Irene Tripp Barry, we so love you, & your love in the world, will live, forever....

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

What a Lovel Tribute to Irene Tripp Barry, "Your other Mother" Cheryl. She obviously made a Wonderful Contribution to your life as well, One that you seemed to have carried over into your own family...She taught you well and I'm sure she's now looking down and "Smiling". My Condolences to your dear friend and her family. LOL, b. Malin

About Me

Some times we hear the tree in the forest when it falls, sometimes not..
Life is a discovery process, and with it our mutual search for peace in our hearts, and in our world at large. Love and, acceptance is the key.
I am now a mother & a grandmother, but during my childhood's generation many of us were given limited choices if we wanted any type of job outside the home. The word career was never mentioned. We were often told to become teachers, secretaries, waitresses, & nurses. I chose the later. It suited who I was, & as I delved into it year upon year I acquired knowledge and skills I never would have achieved in any other way because the nursing profession provides unique human experiences which not only helps our patients but enriches the lives of our fellow/fella nightingales too. All of it further developed my desire for- peaceful solutions in all matters.
The purpose of this blog is a hint of what all human beings desire whether verbalized or not...
"May Peace Prevail On Earth", is a possibility for one Person, one Nation at a time.~xo~